Apparatus for processing organic products and other materials

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for processing organic material is disclosed which breaks down the inedible components of fruit and vegetables (core, skin, pips, pithy material) into an edible substance with a cream-like consistency. The apparatus includes a piston in a barrel for pressurizing the material and forcing it through a passage having a number of end-to-end sections which are at right angles to one another. There is an impact surface at the end of each section on which the flowing material impacts. The sections can be between a sleeve having sections of different diameters and a bobbin the outer surface of which is stepped to match the inner surface of the sleeve.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

THIS INVENTION relates to apparatus for processing organic products andother materials.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Many vegetables have a skin which cannot be used as a food because ofits indigestible nature. Pumpkins and squash are examples of suchvegetables. These also have a central core comprising pips embedded instringy material. The pips, the skin and the stringy material all havenutritional value but are currently discarded because it is not possibleadequately to process them commercially.

Apples and pears have skins and cores with pips in them which arediscarded even though they have nutritional value. The reason is againthat the skin and cores cannot be adequately processed commercially.Oranges and grapefruit are further examples of agricultural productswhich have skins and seeds that are discarded because they cannot beadequately processed commercially even though they have nutritionalvalue.

In the production of wine, the skins and pips of the grapes arediscarded as current methods of pressing do not convert these into aform in which they can be used further in the wine making process.

Apart from the obvious waste of products that have nutritional value,there is also the problem of disposing of the waste. As an example, inthe production of orange juice, many tens of thousands of tons of skinsand pulp have to be disposed of. Likewise, huge quantities of grapeskins have to be dealt with during the relatively short grape pickingperiod.

PCT specification WO 2012/162707 discloses apparatus which pressurisesraw organic products and causes rupturing of the cell walls of theproduct. The resultant product has a cream like consistency andcontains, in accessible form, not only the nutrients which are in thoseparts of the organic products which would hitherto have been consideredas edible but also the nutrients from the parts of the productpreviously considered unusable.

An object of the present invention is to provide improved apparatus forprocessing organic products in a way that eradicates waste or at leastradically minimises waste and enables more of the nutritional value ofthe raw product to be accessed.

Whilst it is envisaged that preferably whole fruit or whole vegetableswill be processed, it is possible to remove those parts which areinherently edible and only process the parts that would otherwise bediscarded.

In the minerals industry, mineral bearing ore is ground using apparatussuch as ball mills. The ground material is then treated with, forexample, an acid in the process known as leaching to separate theminerals from the ore. The efficiency of the leaching process isdependent on the particle size of the ground ore. The smaller theparticles, the more efficient is the leaching process.

Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus whichreduces the particle size of mineral bearing ore in preparation for itsfurther or simultaneous processing to separate the mineral from the rockin which it is dispersed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is providedapparatus for processing organic products or other material whichcomprises a passage having a series of communicating sections each ofwhich has an inlet end and an outlet end and each of which is at anangle with respect to the section which precedes it, an impact wall atthe outlet end of each section, and means for pressurizing said materialso that, in use, it flows into the inlet end of the first section ofsaid passage, emerges from the outlet end of the first section, impactson the impact wall at the outlet end of the first section, changesdirection and then flows into the second section.

Said sections are preferably at right angles to one another.

One form of the apparatus according to the present invention comprises asleeve with an internally stepped bore to provide alternating axiallyfacing surfaces and inwardly facing surfaces the dimensions of whichincrease from one end of the bore to the other, and a bobbin whichmatches the shape of the bore and has axially facing surfacesalternating with outwardly facing surfaces, the dimensions of theoutwardly facing surfaces increasing from one end of the bobbin to theother, there being an annular gap between each outwardly facing surfaceof the bobbin and the inwardly facing surface of the sleeve which liesoutwardly of it.

In a specific form the apparatus of the present invention comprises asleeve with an internally stepped bore to provide alternating axiallyfacing surfaces and inwardly facing surfaces the dimensions of whichincrease from one end of the bore to the other, and a bobbin whichmatches the shape of the bore and has axially facing surfacesalternating with outwardly facing surfaces, the dimensions of theoutwardly facing surfaces increasing from one end of the bobbin to theother, there being gap between each outwardly facing surface of thebobbin and the inwardly facing surface of the sleeve which liesoutwardly of it.

The widths of the annular gaps preferably decrease in the direction fromthe smaller end of the sleeve and bobbin towards their larger ends.

Means such as a spring, a pneumatic cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder,can be provided for forcing the axially facing surfaces of the bobbinagainst the axially facing surfaces of the sleeve.

The bobbin can have a sealing element at its smaller diameter end whichfits into the end of a flow passage which leads from a chamber in whichsaid material is, in use, pressurized to an outlet end which saidelement, in one of its positions, seals.

Said flow passage can comprise two or more sections, each section beingof a smaller cross-sectional area then the section upstream of it.

The means for pressurizing the material can comprise a barrel, a pistonin the barrel, means for reciprocating the piston in alternatingretraction strokes and forward pressurizing strokes during the latter ofwhich material is forced from the barrel through an outlet into saidflow passage.

The inlet is preferably located in the side wall of the barrel and theoutlet in an end wall of the barrel, the inlet being between the outletand the piston when the piston is at the end of its pressurizing stroke.

Said bobbin can have skew grooves in its largest diameter cylindricalsurface whereby, in use, the material flowing in these grooves causesthe bobbin to turn.

The means for reciprocating the piston can comprise a hydraulic orpneumatic cylinder in which there is a drive piston, a piston rodattached to the drive piston extending through an end wall of thepneumatic or hydraulic cylinder, across a gap and being attached to thepiston in the barrel.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod of processing organic material which comprises forcing thematerial under a pressure of between 200 and 2000 bar into a bore sothat it emerges from the bore at a speed of between 500 and 6000 kph,causing the material to flow from the bore through a passage comprisinga plurality of sections each of which has an inlet end and an outlet endand each of which is at an angle with respect to the section whichprecedes it so that the material changes direction as it flows from onesection to the next, and providing an impact wall at the outlet end ofeach section so that the material, as it emerges from each section,impacts on the impact wall at the end of that section, changes directionand flows into the next section of the series.

The pressure is preferably between 300 and 1600 bar, with pressures of350 to 1200 bar providing optimal results.

The preferred speed is in the range of 2000 to 4000 kph.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provideda method of processing organic material which comprises forcing thematerial at a pressure of 200 bar or above through a bore having adiameter of between 0.05 mm and 8 mm, causing the material to flow fromthe bore through a passage comprising a plurality of sections each ofwhich has an inlet end and an outlet end and which is at an angle withrespect to the section which precedes it so that the material changesdirection as it flows from one section to the next, and providing animpact wall at the outlet end of each section so that the material, asit emerges from each section, impacts on the impact wall at the end ofthat section, changes direction and flows into the next section of theseries.

The preferred bore diameters are between 0.1 mm and 6 mm and thepreferred pressure is between 300 and 1200 bar.

Preferably the bore is in two end-to-end sections, the upstream sectionbeing of larger diameter than the downstream section.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method of processing inorganic material which comprisesreducing the inorganic material to particulate form, dispersing theparticulate material in a liquid to form a slurry, forcing the slurryunder a pressure of between 200 and 2000 bar into a bore so that itemerges from the bore at a speed of between 500 and 6000 kph, causingthe slurry to flow from the bore through a passage comprising aplurality of sections each of which has an inlet end and an outlet endand each of which is at an angle with respect to the section whichprecedes it so that the slurry changes direction as it flows from onesection to the next, and providing an impact wall at the outlet end ofeach section so that the slurry, as it emerges from each section,impacts on the impact wall at the end of that section, changes directionand flows into the next section of the series.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show how thesame may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way ofexample, to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an axial section through apparatus in accordance with thepresent invention for processing organic products and other materials;

FIG. 2 is an axial section, to a larger scale, through part of theapparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an axial section which additionally shows the inlet valvestructure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a barrel 12 which isattached to a body 14 of the apparatus. The barrel 12 is externallythreaded and the body 14 has internal threading compatible with theexternal threading of the barrel. In view of the pressures generated inthe apparatus, the barrel and body are linked together by, for example,a nut and a castellated spring washer with an internal tab to prevent itrotating. These components are generally designated 16 and the slotalong which the tab of the spring washer slides is designated 18. Anyother means for ensuring that the body and barrel cannot shift withrespect to one another in use, such as a split clamp, can be used.

The barrel is formed internally with a cylindrical bore 24 which is aconstant diameter throughout its length except at the right-hand end asviewed in FIG. 1 where it has a short-flared section 26.

A piston 28 slides in the bore 24. Axially spaced sealing rings 30, 32positioned in grooves 34, 36 encircle the piston 28. The rings 30, 32seal between the outer surface of the piston 28 and the surface of thebore 24.

An operating rod 38 is secured by a bolt 40 to the piston 28. Theoperating rod is the rod of a hydraulic cylinder (not shown) whichreciprocates the piston 28 in the bore 24 as will be described below.

The body 14 defines a pressure chamber 42 which is co-axial with, andforms a continuation of, the bore 24 of the barrel 12. The diameter ofthe cylinder equals the maximum diameter of the flared section 26.

There is an inlet 44 to the chamber 42. The valve structure whichcontrols flow of material to be processed from an inlet pipe (not shown)to the chamber 42 will be described below with reference to FIG. 3.

A block 46 is secured by a ring of bolts (not shown) to the body 14. Theblock 46 has a passageway 48 therethrough one end of which communicateswith the chamber 42.

A circular recess 50 is formed in the surface of the block 46 remotefrom the chamber 42 and the passageway 48 opens into this recess.

An insert 52 (see particularly FIG. 2) comprising a cylindrical body 54and a flange 56 is held in place by a circular retainer 58. The retainer58 has a stepped central opening 60 the shape of which matches the shapeof the insert 52. The body 54 of the insert 52 projects from the recess50 and is located in a bore 62 of an outlet structure generallydesignated 64. The insert 52 has an axially extending passageway 66through it which is smaller in diameter than the passageway 48 and inaxial alignment with it.

The outlet structure 64 comprises a block 68 in which the bore 62 isformed. Within the block 68 there is a cylindrical central cavity 70into which the bore 62 opens. The bore 62 and cavity 70 are co-axial andthere is a wall 72 which forms one end of the cavity 70. The bore 62passes through the wall 72.

There is a sleeve 74 of a hard abrasion resistant material in the cavity70, one end of the insert being against the wall 72.

The sleeve 74 is internally stepped so as to provide a series of threecircular surfaces 76 which face away from the wall 72 and, alternatingwith the surfaces 76, four cylindrical surfaces 78 the diameters ofwhich increase from left to right.

A freely rotatable bobbin 80 of hard abrasion resistant material islocated in the sleeve 74. The bobbin has a stepped shape which matchesthat of the sleeve 74. Three circular surfaces of the bobbin 80 press,in one operating condition, against the corresponding surfaces 76 of thesleeve 74. Four external cylindrical surfaces of the bobbin lie radiallyinwardly of the surfaces 78. The bobbin thus has four sections thediameters of which sections increase from left to right as viewed inFIG. 2.

The smallest diameter part of the bobbin 80 is extended to the left by acone 82 the shape of the apex of which matches the shape of the end ofthe passageway 66.

The largest diameter section of the bobbin has skew grooves 84 in thesurface thereof. The function of these will be described below. Thelarger diameter section of the bobbin is extended to the right, asviewed in FIG. 2, by a cylinder 86 which has a dome-shaped free end.

Each section of the bobbin 80 is smaller in diameter than the part ofthe sleeve 74 into which it fits. There is consequently an annular gapbetween each bobbin section and the cylindrical surface of the insertwhich lies radially outwardly of that section. The widths of the annulargaps decrease from left to right as viewed in the drawing. Thus, the gapbetween the smallest diameter section of the bobbin and the cylindricalsurface which lies radially outwardly of it is larger than the gapbetween the next section and the surface which lies radially outwardlyof it, and so on.

The sleeve 74 is held in place by a tube 88, and the tube 88 is held inplace by an end plate 90 which is secured by bolts (not shown) to theblock 68. One of the recesses for receiving a bolt head is shown at 92.

A spring-loaded rod 94 passes through the end plate 90 into the cavity70. The end of the rod 94 which is in the cavity is turned down andthreaded and a cylindrical bearing housing 96 is screwed onto the end ofthe rod. A thrust bearing 98 is located in the housing 96 at the end ofthe threaded section which into which the rod 94 is screwed. Theright-hand race of the bearing is fixed and the left hand race is freeto turn. The dome of the cylinder 86 of the insert 52 is in contact withthe rotatable race of the thrust bearing 98. The spring which loads therod 94 can be replaced by a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder.

The rod 94 carries a stop (not shown) which co-operates with a fixedabutment to limit movement of the rod to the right. The rod 94 can onlymove a distance which is sufficient to open the exit from the passageway66 and separate the axially facing surfaces of the sections of thebobbin 80 from the surfaces 76 of the sleeve 74.

It will be understood that the cavity 70 forms an annular exit chamberbetween the tube 88 on the one hand and the rod 94 and the parts carriedby it on the other hand. An outlet port 100 of the block 68 communicatewith the cavity 70.

Whilst in the preferred form of the invention the sleeve 74 and thebobbin 80 are cylindrical it is possible for other shapes to be used.For example, the sections could be square or triangular.

The ball valve structure between the inlet 44 and the source of organicmaterial to be processed has an open position and a closed position.When the valve is opened chopped pieces of the organic material arepumped into the pressure chamber. After a timed interval the valvecloses isolating the pressure chamber 42 from the source of organicmaterial.

The piston 28 is shown in its fully retracted position in FIG. 3. Thevalve structure is open and the organic material to be processed is atthis time being pumped into the pressure chamber 42. There is nopressure in the passageways 48, 66, and consequently the spring orpressure cylinder acting on the rod 94 forces the apex of the cone 82into the exit end of the passageway 66.

Once the pressure chamber 42 has been filled, the valve of the valvestructure closes and the piston 28 begins to move to the right so thatthe pressure in the chamber 42 steadily increases. The movement of thepiston 28 to the right is limited so that the right-hand seal 30 isalways to the left of the flared section 26.

The pressure in the chamber 42 causes organic product to flow along thepassageways 48, 66 and towards the cone 82 which at this stage isclosing the exit end of the passageway 66. The pressure builds at theexit end of the passageway 66 until it overcomes the closing forceexerted by the spring or cylinder. The bobbin 80 then moves to theright, opening the exit end of the passageway 66 and separating thecircular surfaces of the bobbin from those surfaces of the sleeve 74against which they were pressed by the spring.

Organic material flows from the passageway 48 into the narrowerpassageway 66 with a commensurate increase in the speed at which it isflowing. The speed can be between 500 and 6000 kph and is preferably inthe range 2000 to 4000 kph. The material under high pressure and at highspeed is spread by the cone 82 so that it flows radially outwardly inall directions into the annular gap between the smallest section of thebobbin 80 and the smallest inwardly facing surface of the sleeve 74.This gap constitutes the inlet end of the first section. The materialimpacts on the circular impact surface which is between the smallestsection of the bobbin and the adjacent section of the bobbin and whichis consequently at the outlet end of the first section. It then flowsoutwardly again impacting on the surface of the sleeve 74 that encirclesthe second smallest bobbin section. The material impacts multiple timeson surfaces of the bobbin and the sleeve as it travels from section tosection until it flows into the exit chamber constituted by the cavity70. From this chamber it flows through the outlet port 100.

Once the piston 28 reaches the end of its travel, no furtherpressurisation is possible and the piston is retracted (to the left asillustrated). Only once the piston has commenced to retract, and thepressure in the pressure chamber 42 has been relieved, does the ball ofthe valve structure in the inlet rotate to open the inlet and allow thenext charge of organic material to flow into the pressure chamber 42.

Material being processed which flows along the grooves 84 causes thebobbin 80 to turn at the rate of a few (say 2 or 3) rpm. Experimentalwork has shown that this avoids uneven wear on the bobbin.

Pressure, flow rate and size parameters are:

Maximum pressure in the pressure chamber—200 to 2000 bar, preferably to1600 bar, and more preferably 350 to 1200 bar.

Diameter of the passageway 66—0.05 mm to 8 mm preferably 0.1 to 6 mmAnnular gaps between the bobbin 80 and the insert 72—100 micron, 100micron,75 micron, 50 micron, 25 micron

Maximum movement of the bobbin 100 micron

With appropriate selection of the parameters discussed, it is possibleto process organic material with a viscosity of up to 250000 centipoise.

To treat metal bearing ores, the ore is initially crushed and thenreduced to particulate form in a ball mill or the like. The particlesare dispersed in an inert liquid such as water to form a slurry which isthen fed through the apparatus as is described above. It is alsopossible to disperse the particles in the leaching acid so that theextraction process takes place whilst the particle size is beingreduced.

The invention claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for processing materials, saidapparatus comprising a passage having a series of communicating sectionseach of which has an inlet end and an outlet end and each of which is atan angle with respect to the section which precedes it, an impact wallat the outlet end of each section, and a reciprocating piston forpressurizing said material so that, in use, it flows into the inlet endof the first section of said passage, emerges from the outlet end of thefirst section, impacts on the impact wall at the outlet end of the firstsection, changes direction and then flows into the second section; saidapparatus comprising a first part that defines surfaces and a secondpart that defines surfaces corresponding to the surfaces of the firstpart, said passage being formed between said corresponding surfaces ofthe first and second parts, and said apparatus further comprising a biasmechanism that urges the second part towards the first part. 2.Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said sections are at rightangles to one another.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 and wherein thefirst part comprises a sleeve with an internally stepped bore to providealternating axially facing surfaces and inwardly facing surfaces thedimensions of which increase from one end of the bore to the other, andwherein the second part comprises a bobbin which matches the shape ofthe bore and has axially facing surfaces alternating with outwardlyfacing surfaces, the dimensions of the outwardly facing surfacesincreasing from one end of the bobbin to the other, there being gapbetween each outwardly facing surface of the bobbin and the inwardlyfacing surface of the sleeve which lies outwardly of it.
 4. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 and wherein the first part comprises a sleeve withan internally stepped bore to provide alternating axially facingsurfaces and radially inwardly facing cylindrical surfaces the diametersof which increase from one end of the bore to the other, and wherein thesecond part comprises a bobbin which matches the shape of the bore andhas axially facing surfaces alternating with cylindrical surfaces, thediameters of the cylindrical surfaces increasing from one end of thebobbin to the other, there being an annular gap between each cylindricalsurface of the bobbin and the cylindrical surface of the sleeve whichlies radially outwardly of it.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 4,wherein the widths of the annular gaps decrease in the direction fromthe smaller end of the sleeve and bobbin towards their larger ends. 6.Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the bias mechanism comprisesmeans selected from a spring or an hydraulic cylinder for forcing theaxially facing surfaces of the bobbin against the axially facingsurfaces of the sleeve.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein thebobbin has a sealing element at its smaller diameter end which fits intothe outlet end of a passageway that leads from the means whichpressurizes the material, said element, in one of its positions, sealingsaid outlet.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said passagewaycomprises two or more sections, each section being of a smallercross-sectional area than the section upstream of it.
 9. Apparatusaccording to claim 4, wherein said bobbin has skew grooves in itslargest diameter cylindrical surface whereby, in use, the materialflowing in these grooves causes the bobbin to turn.
 10. Apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the reciprocating piston is disposed in abarrel having an end wall and a side wall, said apparatus includingmeans for reciprocating the piston in alternating forward pressurizingstrokes and retraction strokes during the latter of which material isforced from the barrel through an outlet into said flow passage. 11.Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the barrel has an inlet whichis located in the side wall of the barrel and wherein said outlet is inan end wall of the barrel, the inlet being between the outlet and thepiston when the piston is at the end of its pressurizing stroke. 12.Apparatus according to claim 11 and including an inlet valve having anopen position in which organic product or other material is permitted toenter the barrel and a closed position in which flow of organic productor other material to the barrel is prevented, and a control system whichmaintains said inlet valve closed until after the piston has commenced aretraction stroke.
 13. Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein themeans for reciprocating the piston comprises a hydraulic or pneumaticcylinder in which there is a drive piston, a piston rod attached to thedrive piston the piston, rod extending through an end wall of thepneumatic or hydraulic cylinder, across a gap and being attached to thepiston in the barrel.